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REPORT 


OF A 

COMMITTEE OE THE DIRECTORS 

OF THE 


BARRE AND WORCESTER 

RAILROAD COMPANY, 

SHOWING THE 


ESTIMATED COST OF THE CONTEMPLATED ROAD, 


ITS SOURCES OF BUSINESS, 


AND ADVANTAGES TO THE STOCKHOLDERS AND PUBLIC GENERALLY. 


BARRE: 

PATRIOT BOOK AND JOB PRESS. 
1847. 


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■&2.1 T 


BARRE AND WORCESTER RAILROAD. 


■<* 


To the Directors of the Barre and Worcester Railroad Com - 
pany: 

Gentlemen : — The Committee selected by the Board of 
Directors, at its meeting in Worcester, on the 26th ult., to make 
a Statement and Report of the estimated costs of the contem¬ 
plated Barre and Worcester Rail Road, and of its sources of 
business, &c., respectfully submit the following 

REPORT: 

The importance of furnishing Railroad accommodations to the 
large extent of interjacent country in the northern and western 
sections of Worcester County, and northern and eastern portions 
of Hampshire and Franklin, lying between the Western Railroad 
on the south, and the line of the Vermont and Massachusetts 
Road on the north, embracing an area of over one thousand 
square miles, or about one seventh of the territory of the State, 
and a population of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, has 
not failed to strongly impress itself upon the public mind. 

Such is the nature and extent of the business of this portion 
of the Commonwealth, its agricultural, manufactured and natu¬ 
ral productions, together with its immense unimproved water 
power and other resources to invite the investment of capital 
and stimulate the hand of industry in all its various departments, 
that the justice of its demand for the facilities of Railroad inter¬ 
communication with Worcester and the great seaboard markets 
of New’ England is universally admitted, and the only question 
has been the selection of the line of route which should best 
answer this demand* 

‘ sn 59037 

•s r 




4 


This question has long been agitated by the public. Nume- 
rous surveys have been made and various routes from Worcester 
North and West, to different points of intersection with the Ver^ 
mont and Massachusetts Road, have been petitioned for, and 
after the most patient investigation by two successive Legisla^ 
tures, an Act was passed last winter, incorporating the Barre 
and Worcester Railroad Company, with authority to construct 
a Railroad from some convenient point on the Nashua and 
Worcester Railroad in Worcester, through the intermediate 
towns of Holden, Princeton, Rutland, Pluhbardston and Oak- 
haul to Barre, and from Princeton through Hubbardston to some 
convenient point of intersection with the Vermont and Massa¬ 
chusetts Road in the town of Gardner, with a capital stock not 
to exceed ten thousand shares, and the assessments on each 
share not to exceed one hundred dollars. 

This important question being thus definitely settled, so far 
at least as legislative action was necessary, the next considera¬ 
tion of importance that presents itself, is the raising of the 
necessary funds. As capital will not flow into enterprises of 
this character without a reasonable prospect of remunerative 
dividends, incident to this consideration is the extent of Road 
to be built, its probable cost of construction and equipment, and 
the amount of business that may safely be relied upon to give it 
adequate support. 

The undersigned base their report upon these subjects, upon 
the surveys and estimates of competent Engineers and the 
authenticated statistics of the business to be accommodated by 
the Road, as furnished to the Committee of the Legislature by 
a Committee selected by the citizens generally, for that purpose, 
and of which two of the undersigned were members. These 
statistics were obtained with a view of approximating as near as 
possible to accuracy, and from our general knowledge of the sec¬ 
tion of country, its natural and industrial productions, popular 
tion, trade and business to be accommodated by the Road, and 
the ample resources for their future growth, the undersigned 
have no hesitancy in expressing the fullest confidence in the 
general correctness of the statistics which have been thus care^ 
fully furnished. 

In giving the extent, feasibility and cost of the Road, as sur^ 
veyed, and the statistics generally, we do not deem it necessary 
to enter into the minutiae of detail. Such general results as have 
been arrived at from the surveys, estimates, &c., as shall convey 
to the public a correct understanding of the character of the 
Road, and of its business prospects, are all that can be required 
&t this time. 


EXTENT OF ROAD. 


From Barre to the point of intersection with the Nashua and Worces^ 


ter Railroad in Worcester, as surveyed, 25,. 33-100 

From Princeton to intersection with the Vermont and Massachusetts 

Railroad in Gardner, 9,65-100 


Total length of Road to be built, 34,98-100 

Distance from the intersection with the Nashua and Worcester Rail- 
soad to Worcester, 3,60-100 


Total length of Road from Barre and Gardner to Worcester, 38,58 100 


Upon a final survey and location, the length of Road to be 
built, it is believed, may be shortened from two to three miles. 

The maximum grade is 45 feet, with no objectionable curva¬ 
tures. 

Cost of construction of 34 98-100 miles of Road as estimated, $727,274 

Cost per mile for construction, $20,791 11 

Cost of equipment lor the accommodation of passengers and freight to 
be carried annually over the Road : 


5 Engines a $7000 

$35 900 

7 Passenger Cars a 1,900 

13 300 

20 Freight do. a 650 

13 OGO 

Baggage do. a 500 

3 000 

Snow Ploughs, &c., 

2*200 

Gravel Cars, &c., 

3 900 


- 70,400 

Total cost of construction and equipment of Road., $797,674 

17 towns in Worcester County, not including Worcester, upon the line 
of the Road and collateral to, and that will be accommodated by it, 
contain a present population of over 30,00(1 

6 towns in Hampshire and Fianklin Counties, 8,000 

Total population, 38,000 

These towns will furnish annually, to be carried over the Road* 
as calculated from data presented to the Committee of the 
Legislature, 107,394 Passengers and 82,035 Tons of Freight. 

BUSINESS OF THE ROAD 

AS ESTIMATED BY ENGIJNERS FROM THE ABOVE DATA. 

PASSENGERS. 


18,000"| f 25 cents, $4,500 

4.000 | | 48 1,920 

19,000 y Way Passengers, a 2 50 “ 0,500 

10,000 I 60 “ 6,000 

24,200 J ^65 “ 15,730 

32,194 Through passengers, a 75 “ 24,145 50 


107,394 Passengers yielding 


$61,795 50 








6 


9,000*1 
4’455 | 

17,655 VTons Freight, a 
26,317 | 

23,708 J 


FREIGHT. 


r ,40 

$3,960 

1 ,80 

3,564 

{ 1,00 

17,655 

1,25 

32,896’25 

L 1,50 

35,562 


82,035 Tons yielding 


93,637 25 


Total receipts of Road, $155,432 75 

Deduct proportion to be paid Nashua and Worcester Railroad for use 
of 3,6*10 of its Road into Worcester, &c., &c., 1-12 of above, $12,951 89 


Total receipts of Road, 


$142,480 86 


COSTS OF TRANSPORTATION, &c., &c. 

Two passenger, and two and a half freight trains each 
way. on 6 days in the week, making 98,539 miles run 
per annum. Taking 70 cents per mile run for the cost 
of transportation, and ail other expenses, such as repairs, 
renewals, &c., and the amount of annual expenditures 
will be $68,977 30 

Cost of Construction and Equipment of Road, $797,674. 

6 per cent is 47,860 44 

Total cost of transportation, &c., and 6 per cent, on capital, 116 837 74 

Surplus, $25,643 12 

Taking the average cost of transportation in 1844, on eleven 
Massachusetts Roads, including all the estimates of expense, 
such as repairs of engines and cars, maintenance of way, &c., 
the cost would be 68,68-100 cents per mile run, or 1,32-100 
cents per mile run less than the above estimate. 

The following table taken from the Railroad Journal, shows 
the gross and net income of 6 New England Railroads for the 
year 1844, with their average, and the proportion does not differ 
materially from that of the Barre and Worcester Road, accord¬ 
ing to the foregoing estimates : 



Length. 

Gross income. 

Net income. 

Portland, Saco and Portsmouth, 

50 miles. 

$131,404 

$62,172 

Boston and Maine, 

56 “ 

233,101 

86,401 

Boston and Lowell, 

26 “ 

316,909 

147,615 

Boston and Providence, 

41 “ 

262,701 

156,101 

Boston and Worcester, 

44 “ 

428,437 

195,163 

Eastern, 

54 “ 

337,238 

227,920 

Averages, 


$288,299 

$145,896 

Comparing the Barre and 

Worcester Road in the same man- 

ner: 

Length. 

34,08-100 

Gross income. 

Net income. 

Barre and Worcester Road, 

$142,470 86 

$73,493 56 









7 


Prom the foregoing estimates it appears, that the business of 
the Road will pay the cost of transportation, &c., 6 per cent, 
interest on the amount of capital invested, and leave a surplus 
of $25,633 12, or a trifle over 3 per cent. 

A liberal allowance being made for over estimates, though it 
is believed they are as nearly accurate as it is possible to make 
them, and there would still remain a sufficient income from the 
business of the Road to pay the running expenses, &c., and 
6 per cent, interest on its cost. 

Had this Road no other resources for business than what is 
to be derived from the section of country above named and 
through which it directly passes, we might here close our state¬ 
ment with the fullest confidence in the success of the enterprise. 
But such is not the case, and we should fail in our duty to the 
friends of the Road and to the public, were we to omit to men¬ 
tion some of the important considerations arising from the con¬ 
nections which this Road forms with existing and contemplated 
roads at Worcester and elsewhere . It becomes the grand con¬ 
necting link in Massachusetts of a chain of Railroad communi¬ 
cation from Boston, Providence, R. L, and Norwich, Ct., to the 
northern and western parts of Worcester County ; western part 
of New Hampshire; southern, western, and northern parts of 
Vermont, and ultimately over the Ogdensburg Road to Northern 
New York; Western Canada; the country bordering on the 
great Lakes, and finally over the great Lakes to the northwest¬ 
ern United States. 

The advantages, not only to the town and county of Worces¬ 
ter, but to the whole State, as also to the States of Rhode 
Island and Connecticut of having an unbroken inland communi¬ 
cation by steam power between the north and north-western 
portions of the country and the south-eastern sea-board, can 
scarcely be imagined, much less appreciated. 

The Boston and Worcester, Providence and Worcester and 
the Norwich and Worcester Roads, will alike become the con¬ 
tributors both of passengers and merchandise to be transported 
over this Road to the Vermont and Massachusetts and Cheshire 
Roads, and thence to their respective destinations in New Hamp¬ 
shire, Vermont and Western Canada, while those Roads will 
send back their return of freight to be transported over the Barre 
and Worcester Road to Worcester, and from that great central 
point of diverging Roads, to the sea-board and different parts of 
the country. 

To estimate with any degree of accuracy the additional 
amount of business which may be realized to the Barre and 


8 


Worcester Road from these prolific sources would be impossible. 
It will be safe to say that it will more than quadruple any defi-‘ 
ciency of income which can possibly arise from any errors in the 
preceding estimates of business, which, in view of this long tra¬ 
vel and freight, may properly be termed the way business of 
the Road. 

/With these facts and considerations before us, the under¬ 
signed are fully satisfied that the stock in the Barreand Worces¬ 
ter Road will afford as safe and profitable an investment as that 
of any other Road in the country. They can not, therefore, but 
regard an/enterprise of so much importance to Worcester and 
the whole State as this Road will be in the business facilities it 
will extend to a large portion of its most enterprising citizens in 
Worcester County, and in the extended avenue it will unlock 
through which the business of other and more remote regions is 
to pour its treasures into the “ Heart of the Commonwealth/ 5 as 
certain of success. 

JOHN W. LINCOLN, ) 

JOHN BROOKS, > Committee. 
J. W. JENKINS, Jk., ) 

Worcester, June 7, 1847. 


























